


Breakout

by Mack_the_Spoon



Category: Fringe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Episode Related, F/M, s03e08 Entrada
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-06
Updated: 2011-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-26 23:37:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/289139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mack_the_Spoon/pseuds/Mack_the_Spoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bit AU (in the divergent from canon sense, not the literal alternate universe) for Olivia's return in 'Entrada'. “Olivia. Do you know where you are? You're safe. This is Walter's lab, on our side, and these are paramedics. No one's trying to hurt you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breakout

**Author's Note:**

> (I don't own Fringe, the characters, or the plots.)  
> I've never been to Harvard, so there may well be inaccuracies in my discussion of campus geography. I did at least find the online campus map, though, so it's not totally off – I hope.  
> Thanks to Namarie for the edits.

~~~~~~

 

Astrid's second phone call, after 9-1-1, was to Broyles. Honestly she had thought about calling Peter first, but in the end she decided with some misgivings to do her duty to her boss. It wasn't as if he wouldn't tell both Bishops right away, she told herself as she waited next to Olivia's motionless body.

Just as she was starting to hear the sounds of the EMTs arriving, Olivia stirred. “Olivia?” Astrid said gently.

She opened her eyes and met Astrid's, and Astrid's stomach dropped at the lack of recognition in them. Before the junior agent could say anything more, though, Olivia sat up and began scrambling backward. “Hey, it's all right,” Astrid said, standing. “It's just me.”

The door crashed open at that moment, and paramedics came in, wheeling a stretcher with them. The resulting noise caused Olivia to let out a cry, and in a moment she was on her feet somehow and looking wildly around the room, panic evident in her face and movements.

“Ma'am,” said one of the paramedics, assessing the situation, “are you the one who called?”

“Yeah,” said Astrid. “She was unconscious, and now I don't think she's really aware of what's going on. She's just been through a lot.” She turned back to Olivia. “Olivia, it's all right. They're here to help. We just want to make sure you're okay.”

Olivia glanced at Astrid, but again there was little if any recognition there. She was breathing fast, and had continued to back up until she was in a corner. The paramedics continued to approach, and Olivia tensed as she noticed. The one who had spoken before paused at this, then called back to one of his colleagues, “I think we're going to need a sedative here.”

But however unaware Olivia might be of where she was, it become obvious in that moment that she could still hear and understand enough of what was going on to act on it. So quickly that Astrid didn't have time to call out a warning, Olivia rushed forward and put the man in a chokehold. “No more drugs,” Olivia gasped. “Keep them away.”

The man made as if to struggle, but stopped instantly when Olivia tightened her hold. Astrid blinked back the tears that were threatening at Olivia's sheer desperation, and spoke again. “Olivia. Do you know where you are? You're safe. This is Walter's lab, on our side, and these are paramedics. No one's trying to hurt you.”

Olivia looked at her again, and Astrid could tell that she was staying upright only by force of will. “I don't...” she said, and blinked, seeming unsure. Then her head jerked over to where the other paramedic was reaching toward his radio. “You. Don't try anything! Keep your hands where I can see them, or your friend is a goner.” She blinked again, still breathing heavily.

“Olivia, you don't need to do this,” Astrid tried again.

“Shut up!” she snapped. “You're trying to trick me.” She shuddered, and the paramedic gasped and swallowed audibly.

“No, I'm not trying to trick you,” Astrid said. “Nobody here wants to do anything but help you.”

There was a brief moment of stalemate, and then the door to the lab opened again and another EMT stuck his head in. “Hey guys, what's taking-” he started to say. “Oh my God.” His eyes widened as he took in the scene.

Olivia had jumped again at the sound of the door opening, and then she gasped and moaned. Trembling even harder, she thrust her captive away from her and stared down at herself. “No. Oh God, what is happening?”

“Olivia?” Astrid said. “What's wrong?” The second paramedic had a needle presumably full of sedatives and was trying to surreptitiously move forward, but Astrid barely noticed. She was too focused on the fact that there was a sudden smell of smoke in the air, and Olivia was crying. Olivia Dunham, who Astrid had never seen cry, was openly weeping and clearly terrified out of her wits. Then the junior agent put together what she'd read about the Cortexiphan trials and the smell in the air, and ran the few steps it took to reach the EMT who was still trying to get to Olivia. “Get back!” she shouted, and pulled him down and away.

A second later, a wall of impossibly bright flames sped in each direction away from where Olivia crouched. Astrid heard a scream from someone in the room, a bellow of fear from Gene in her pen, and then just as suddenly the flames vanished. She was sure they had stopped microseconds before reaching her or any of the others. She stood from where she had ducked in a pointless attempt to make herself smaller, and then the building's fire alarm kicked in with an ear-piercing wail.

Olivia staggered away from the smoking, blackened corner, tears still streaking down her face. There was nowhere for her to go except through where Astrid and the EMTs stood. Astrid almost hoped that she would collapse again, which felt like a strange wish, but that seemed so clearly to be the best option. “Olivia,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the alarm, “please. We want to help you.” She had to say it, even though she wasn't sure that was strictly speaking the top priority of the EMTs at this point. The one at the door had bolted, and the other who had prepared the sedative looked utterly stunned. The man who she had attacked, Astrid thought, surprisingly enough still looked sympathetic, although he was also clearly astonished.

Olivia took a step closer, and Astrid flinched in spite of herself at the increase in heat. Olivia looked even more stricken, if that was possible, and finally spoke again. “Get out of the way. Please. I don't know if... it might happen again.”

Astrid met her eyes and swallowed. “Where are you going?”

“Away,” she said shortly, wiping a shaking hand across her face.

Very reluctantly, Astrid took a step to the side, and the others followed her lead. In seconds, Olivia was out of the door, although Astrid still didn't know how the woman could even stay on her feet. There was another pause when the door shut, and then Astrid's cell phone rang. It was Broyles. She stared at it. He still thought his agent was on her way to a hospital, no doubt, instead of wherever she was now. Astrid herself could hardly believe how many things had happened in the span of a few hours of this insane rollercoaster of a day.

~~~~~~~

 

Peter leaned against the railing next to where Gene stood, clenching his jaw as he looked again at the burned-out corner across from him. The thought of Olivia back in their world, but running around traumatized and exhausted from whatever had happened to her Over There had not stopped causing him actual physical pain. All that was on top of the crushing guilt he had been harboring ever since early that morning when he'd learned just how spectacularly his supposedly excellent powers of observation had been failing him for the past several weeks, and how spectacularly he had been failing Olivia (the real Olivia) because of his blindness. “Okay, but you said she was barely strong enough to be standing. She can't have gotten far,” he said to Astrid.

She nodded, clearly still shaken from what she had witnessed. “But I wouldn't have thought she could have even made it out the door, and she did.”

He sighed and crossed his arms. “And there's no report from campus security or anyone?” he asked Broyles again.

Broyles shook his head grimly. “As I said, though, any campus security personnel who were in this area had their hands full with the fire alarm and the emergency responders. They're looking. And I told them to call me before they approach Agent Dunham, if they find her. I've put out a BOLO with local police, as well, with the same instructions.”

“With luck, she is unconscious somewhere, having found a place that seems safe enough for her to let her guard down,” said Walter. “Of course, if we hear any more reports of fires, we'll know that may not be the case.”

“Yeah, thanks for that, Walter,” Peter said. “Look, we can't just stand here. Isn't there something we can do?”

Broyles looked at him. “I suppose if you have any ideas where she might be, you can do your own investigation, Peter.”

“It couldn't hurt,” Peter agreed. “Walter, do you have any ideas for narrowing down the field?”

“I'd suggest an infrared monitor, although if she has been able to calm herself, she may have cooled off by now,” said Walter.

“Do we have one?” Peter asked.

“Didn't you use something like that in the case where the woman had to steal spinal fluid to survive?” Astrid asked.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, poor Dr. Boone and his wife,” Walter said. “The monitors must be around here somewhere.”

Within a few minutes, Peter, Walter, and Astrid had begun walking around the Harvard campus, Peter and Astrid each holding a monitor, and Walter splitting his time between them as he adjusted the parameters of their search. Peter spared a brief though to note that it was a mark of how screwed up his life was that this ranked quite low on the list of bizarre things he'd done. They got a few strange glances as they progressed away from the Kresge building, but he hardly noticed.

“I think we can assume she wouldn't stay on the path,” Peter said. “So which way looks safer, more like a place to hide?”

“If she remembered the campus layout, she'd know crossing the street here would just lead to more buildings and more people,” Astrid pointed out, looking straight forward.

“True,” said Peter. “And you said she really wanted to get away from people.”

“What about that park that's past the design building?” Walter said. “That's not too far from here.”

“That's as good a place to start as any,” Peter said. “Let's go.”

There was mostly silence as they made their way toward the park. Peter thought Walter seemed to want to say something several times, but uncharacteristically, he didn't speak. He glanced at their infrared devices every few feet, although Peter was starting to think they weren't going to be of much use after all.

When they reached the park, Peter scanned it quickly with both eye and monitor. Nothing immediately stood out. “There's not much in the way of cover here,” he said, frowning.

“No, unfortunately not,” Walter said. “I do think that Olivia would have instinctively sought a place away from people, both out of concern for her own safety and for the safety of others, if she was still concerned about another pyrokinetic episode – but I doubt she would stay somewhere she would feel this exposed.”

“What about the Muddy River? There's some undergrowth around it, and the water might give her a sense of security if she's worried about causing another fire,” Astrid suggested. “It's just beyond the park.”

Peter couldn't help shaking his head. “That's a long way for her to have gone. But if anyone could have made it all that way in the state she's in, it would be Olivia.”

They kept a close watch on their monitors on the way, seeing no sign of increased heat. Just before they exited the park, though, Walter let out a cry. “Ah! Peter, is that a scorch mark here next to the path?”

Peter quickly went to his side. “Looks like it. The monitor does show it as slightly hotter than the surrounding ground. It's gotta be her.”

“I wonder what triggered it,” Walter said seriously. “I don't like to think of the mental state she must be in.”

“Me neither, which is why we should hurry,” Peter said, starting to jog toward the river. As he got closer, he called back to Walter and Astrid, “Look, there's a heat trail here. Headed down to the river, like you said, Astrid.” He stopped on the ridge of the bank, and the others caught up.

Walter put a hand on his arm. “Peter, if she's down there, we should proceed with caution. We don't want to spook her any further. In fact, maybe you should go on ahead of us.”

Peter considered, then nodded and handed the infrared device to his father. “I'll let you know.” He carefully made his way down the slope, following the faint trail broken and sometimes singed through the bushes. The trail turned sharply to the right just a yard or two from the water, and Peter stopped short, his heart in his mouth. In front of him, below a small maple and partially hidden under a bush, there was a figure dressed in some kind of white hospital outfit, sprawled and motionless. He could only see up to her hips, but he could tell it was a woman, and she looked quite familiar.

Very quietly, he took a few more steps closer. “Olivia?” he said, in a tone just above a whisper. “Olivia, it's me. It's Peter.” There was no response, and he got closer still. He didn't need any machine to notice that she was still giving off much more heat than normal, although none of the foliage touching her was burned, which he took as a good sign. “Olivia? I don't want to scare you, but I need you to wake up. We've got to get you out of here.”

She twitched, and turned over toward him, so that more of her was visible. He was struck by how very pale she looked. His gut clenched in an extra reminder of his guilt at how wrong the red hair seemed, as well. Then her eyelids fluttered, and she moaned softly.

“Hey, Olivia. I know you're exhausted, but I want to get you some help.” He crouched down next to her and tentatively reached out to touch her arm.

“No!” Suddenly, she was bolt upright and jerking away from his outstretched hand. Her eyes scanned his face frantically, and she took in short, panicked breaths.

“Olivia! Olivia, it's me. You're safe,” he said, holding up both hands in a placating gesture.

She looked confused, but he thought her breathing slowed a fraction. Her mouth worked, but she couldn't seem to get any words out.

“It's Peter,” he said soothingly. “I just want to help.”

She stilled completely, then her eyes met his and he was sure she knew him. “Peter? Are you... are you real?”

He couldn't have contained his smile if he had wanted to. “It's really me.”

She ran her eyes over him again, seeming in disbelief. “Oh my God, Peter.”

He reached out a hand again, and she didn't flinch when he took hers. “Thank God you're back, Olivia.”

“I'm back,” she repeated, squeezing his hand, and if her skin was noticeably hot to the touch, he didn't mind in the least. She smiled, then her eyes closed and she slumped back to the ground.

“Olivia?” he asked again, more urgently. She didn't stir. Her grip on his hand loosened, and his mind started to race. But then he took a deep breath and let it out. Of course she was unconscious. God knows, she had probably used the last of her energy to wake up at his approach.

He set her hand down, pondering his next course of action. He was fairly certain he could carry her – in fact it looked like she had probably lost weight since he had last seen her – but the path back up to the top wasn't very smooth and he worried about losing his balance and causing her further pain. Finally he decided getting some help would be better, and walked quickly up the slope until he could see Walter and Astrid waiting anxiously at the top. “I found her! She's unconscious now, but she knew it was me. I think she'll be okay, but we should get her to a hospital.”

“Oh, thank God,” Astrid said, quickly taking out her phone. She stopped before dialing. “Peter, you know what? I think both Olivia and I have seen enough paramedics today. I'm going to call Broyles and tell him we found her, and ask him to bring his car around. We can take her.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Tell him to hurry,” said Peter. “Walter, you want to help me carry Olivia?”

“Of course, son,” said Walter, moving down the hill as Astrid dialed Broyles. The Bishops went back to where Olivia lay, and Peter heard Walter's breath catch at the sight of her. He met his father's eyes, and read his own anger and compassion mirrored in them. “We'll get her better, son,” he said in a determined voice.

“I know, Walter,” Peter said. “But I'm not worried about that. She's already done the hard part. She got herself back here.”

Walter nodded, then crouched down next to Olivia. “Although you know you'll also have to have a talk with her about what happened while she was away, don't you?”

Peter sighed, also bending down. “Let's make sure she's going to be all right first. I'm not going to keep it a secret from her, though.” Carefully, they picked her up and made their way back up the hill. He knew Walter was right – Olivia might have done the hard part of freeing herself, but for him, the most difficult part was still ahead.

 

End


End file.
